Heero Bumblebee
by The Libran Iniquity
Summary: (AU) Heero in an orphanage...Chapter 10:- Heero's secret is revealed and he, Duo, Robert and the others learn something important along the way (COMPLETED)
1. Escape

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"Come back here and say it to my face!"

Slowly, the smaller boy inched forwards. His brown hair was matted and messy, and a small cut was dangerously close to his right eye. He looked up into the taller boy's face and spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Leave - leave me alone."

The taller boy laughed. He bent down suddenly and thrust his head into the scared face of the small boy.

"Make me Yuy."

The small boy's bottom lip trembled. He opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it again without saying a word, and then ran away up the corridor. His tormentor's laughs followed him until he collapsed, out of breath, against a wooden brown door.

He stayed there, cowering, until the laughs faded into silence. Then, slowly, he made his way along another corridor to the dormitory he shared with nobody. He didn't feel even a little bit safe until the door was firmly shut behind him.

It was getting dark outside. The boy looked up at the plain grey clock on the wall opposite his bed and froze. It was late. He heard footsteps coming up outside, and he leapt into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, always keeping his blue eyes trained on the door.

After a minute or two, the door opened and a tall dark-haired woman stepped inside. She took a glasses case out of her skirt pocket and proceeded to put on a pair of glasses. She looked at the small boy, now seemingly asleep.

She strode over to the bed and looked. As far as she could tell, the youngster was fast asleep, despite the fact that he shivered a little every few seconds.

The woman frowned. A quick check on the radiator proved that it was working adequately, and the small window above the bed was shut and locked safely, as was the equally small window to the left of the unoccupied bed in the room. After checking once more that the bed's occupant was sleeping, she exited the room and locked it securely.

A moment later, the boy stopped shivering and his eyes opened. He listened intently for a few seconds, then clambered quietly out of bed. He knelt down on the floor and reached underneath the bed. He felt around and eventually pulled out a tatty brown book and a small nub of a pencil.

He got back on the bed, wrapped the dingy brown coverlet around his small body, and opened the book. Almost half of the pages were covered in small neat handwriting. He turned to the next clean page and began to write by the light of the moon.

__

7th December, AC 193

Jake came for me again. This time it was outside the classroom. He hit me, told me I was useless, that I would never amount to anything, and that I was chronically brain-dead. He also told me to stop pretending to be something that I'm not. I think this was because I got a higher score than him again in the algebra test. Everyone was watching when Jake hit me, but nobody stepped in to help me. Nobody did anything, or even said anything. I think they're all scared of Jake. I am; there are times sometimes when I wish I didn't exist, or that I was somebody else. Anybody but me.

There's no point in going to see Mr Kushraneda Kushrenada. He didn't believe me when Jake broke my arm, and he won't believe me over a small cut and three purple bruises on my wrist.

It always comes down to Jake's word against my own in the end, because none of the other kids will stand up to him. I tried to today, but he'll always come looking for me. And he'll always find me. There are only so many hiding-places in this dump, and Jake knows them all.

All of them except one. Yesterday I found an empty classroom on the top floor. The door was locked, but that's easy to deal with when you know how. Inside it's all dusty and dirty. I don't think that anybody's been inside there in years. Least of all Jake, which is why I think I like it.

I dreamed again last night. I like my dreams because I'm never myself when I'm in them. Well, I am, but I'm a bigger me. Taller and stronger. Older.

Afraid of nothing.

I was flying last night. It was amazing. I looked down and I saw Jake standing in a field. He looked so small from where I was. So helpless. Just like me.

I ignored Jake and kept on flying. I flew until I was in space and Jake was nothing but a pinprick and still shrinking until he was nothing. And then I was so far away that it didn't matter anyway, whatever size he was. And then I felt safe. Even happy. I haven't felt happy in a long time. Maybe ever.

In space I stopped moving and some of the fear crept back. There were some noises behind me. I turned around and there were four people, flying like I was. Then I woke up to Jake and a cold, wet, dripping sponge in my face.

The four fliers... I think they were my friends...


	2. Arrival

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"Anybody seen Yuy today?" Jake asked the assembled class of twenty-three. They all remained silent, but shook their heads as one. "Darn," he said sarcastically, "I was so looking forward to saying hello."

At that moment Heero entered the classroom, wearing the green shirt and black shorts that he always wore. His head was bowed, and he was moving slowly as though not to catch anybody's attention. He quietly worked his way to the one empty table at the front of the classroom, hugging the wall all the way where possible.

"Yuy!" Jake bounded over to the table where Heero was now sitting silently, face turned forward. He turned around to face Jake, eyes apprehensive.

Jake put one hand on Heero's left shoulder in an almost fatherly fashion. "Yuy! Where were you this morning? I came into your room especially to make sure you were up nice and early for class, and you weren't there! I feel so let down!"

When Heero made no response, Jake shoved him hard to the floor. As the class watched, Heero's shoulder made a sickening crack upon contact with the wooden floor.

There was complete silence until Heero slowly got up and faced Jake.

"Anything you wanted to say to me, Yuy?" Jake asked menacingly, his dark eyes flashing. "Like an apology for my wasted time and effort into your punctuality?"

Heero said nothing, just rubbed his shoulder a little.

Jake raised his hand and watched happily as Heero winced underneath his glare. He then went and sat down next to his girlfriend. "Too easy," he muttered to himself as he sat down. "It's getting too easy."

Relena nodded, and threw a contemptuous look at Heero's solitary figure.

Just then the teacher entered the classroom, followed closely by another boy. Mr Port wiped his ever-sweaty forehead with an ever-present and ever-mucky handkerchief. He went to his desk and motioned for the new boy to stand next to him. Heero looked up at their entrance and was struck by the new boy's gaze. No matter how hard he tried, Heero couldn't shake the feeling that they had met somewhere before.

"Right," the teacher was saying, "this is our new student. Um, you can go sit next to... Heero in the corner."

Heero thought that the teacher took a long time over that one, especially considering that his was the only table in the room occupied by only one student.

The new boy nodded his head and made his way over to where Heero was sitting. Just before he started moving, he met quiet hisses from Jake and Relena, too quiet for Mr Port to hear, who was now laboriously writing sentences on the blackboard.

The boy slipped into the seat next to Heero with ease. He gave Heero the once-over, who squirmed slightly as he caught death-glares from Jake at the other end of the room.

Once he was sure that the teacher was fully occupied with explaining adverbs to the class, the boy said quietly, "Hi. I'm Duo."

"Heero." Heero grunted, feigning an interest in adverbs.

"That's a nice name."

Heero started. He turned to look at 'Duo'. The boy sitting next to him was about the same age as himself, no more than thirteen years old. He had long brown hair that was beautifully braided and dark violet eyes that crinkled as Duo smiled.

"Er... thank you." Heero didn't know what else to say. Duo was the first person to say more than one sentence to him in a long, long time. Except for Jake, of course.

"No worries." Duo smiled again, and again Heero had to shake off the strange sense of déja-vu, the sense that he had known Duo before today. Which, of course, he hadn't.

"Hey, would you mind explaining this dump to me?"

"You don't know anything about it?" Heero was completely mystified.

Duo shook his head, causing the braid to swing about on his back. "I got shunted here this morning. No explanation, no nothing. What about you?"

Heero paused for a moment, then quietly replied. "I've been here for five years. It doesn't have a name that I know of. Mr Kushrenada is the overseer-type person in charge of everything. Ms Une, or Jenny as she makes us call her, is the Matron. Medical officer," he added, seeing Duo's blank face. "Food's served at 7am, 12pm and 5.30pm. Dormitories are two to a room, the larger ones take four people, and there's a half-hour of recreation in the morning and a half-hour in the afternoon. Schooling is from 8am to 11.30am, and 1.30pm until 5pm. There's a library on the fourth floor, but all the books are about thirty years old, and there are about a hundred and fifty children here at the moment."

"So what exactly is this place?"

Heero almost smiled. "It's a cross between an orphanage and a cheap boarding school."

"Ah." And no more was said until the end of the lesson.

After an hour and a half of Mr Port rambling on and on about adverbs, the present subjunctive and the difference between metaphors and similes, Heero was definitely glad to get out of the classroom. Outside, however, he found his way blocked by Jake.

"Well if it isn't the ungrateful Yuy."

Heero kept silent. He had long since worked out that this was the easiest way to get things over and done with.

"Have you got anything to say to me, Yuy?" Jake's arm reached out and prodded Heero's still-sore left shoulder, making him recoil a little from the pain.

Just like the day before, Heero opened his mouth to try and speak, but he couldn't get the words out. Instead he watched Relena come over and stand just behind Jake.

Jake clamped his other hand around Heero's already bruised wrist and began to squeeze.

"Did." Squeeze. "You." Squeeze. "Have." Squeeze. "Anything." Squeeze. "To." Squeeze. "Say." Squeeze. "To." Squeeze. "Me." Squeeze. "Yuy?"

Feeling faint from the pain, Heero tried to mumble.

Jake squeezed harder. "Couldn't quite catch that, Yuy."

"S - sorry."

"For what, Yuy?"

"For - wasting your time this morning."

"And... ?" Jake prompted in mock encouragement, all the while tightening his clamp on Heero's wrist.

"What the hell are you doing to him?!"

Everyone in the corridor stopped watching Jake torment Heero and looked behind him. Duo had just come out of the classroom having talked to Mr Port. And he had just taken in what was being done to Heero.

"What's it to you?" Jake snorted, giving the new boy the once-over.

"He's my friend." Duo replied, standing next to a nearly-unconscious Heero.

"Yuy doesn't have any friends." Jake stated this as though it were something everybody should know.

"Newsflash; he does. Now leave him alone."

For a moment Jake looked flustered. Duo supposed he wasn't used to 'victims' talking like they had all the power. Then he regained his composure, but dropped Heero's wrist. The boy fell in a crumpled heap to the floor.

"I'll get you, new kid," Jake snarled. "Just you watch out."

He turned around and stalked off, followed closely by Relena. As Duo watched, the rest of the class dissipated as well, until just he and Heero were left.

The smaller boy was just coming round. Duo knelt.

"Hey, Heero, are you okay?"

"Unh."

Duo slowly managed to get Heero to his feet. "Which dorm are you in Heero?" he asked clearly.

"... 38."

"Good, same as me. Come on, let's go." Duo slipped his arm around Heero's shoulder and guided him slowly to the stairs at the end of the corridor.

As they moved, Heero silently thanked whatever God was out there watching him. He had finally realised what was happening.

Duo was one of the fliers from his dream.

He was going insane.


	3. Other

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Heero woke up to a grey cloth dripping water. He covered himself with his arms and shrank back underneath his covers.

Covers?

"Hey, hey, Heero, it's okay. It's me. Duo," came a voice from the other side of the covers. It was familiar. And yet...

Slowly, Heero peeked out from his hiding place, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. No Jake. Jake wasn't anywhere in the room. But neither was he by himself. The braided boy, Duo, was standing above the bed, holding a warm moist cloth on his wrist.

He tried to move his arm and a wave of pain shot up from his bruised wrist to his pain-wracked shoulder.

"Take it easy, little guy." Duo commented.

__

Easy for you to say, Heero thought to himself, _you're not the one who's been through all this a hundred times over_.

Duo removed the cloth and let Heero take a look at his wrist. The wrist was barely recognisable as belonging to a human being, and was now bright purple from the palm of his hand to about half way to his elbow. There were also faint traces of blood on the bruised skin.

Heero moaned in pain and sank back underneath the covers.

"Suit yourself." Duo shrugged and wandered over to the other bed that stood in the small room.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked, curiosity overcoming his uncertain dislike for the braided baka. He started. Baka? Where had that word come from?

Duo shrugged again. "I told you this I'm supposed to be in here as well. Remember? I told you on the stairs that this was the only room with a spare bed."

Heero didn't remember Duo saying that to him at all, but he knew why the bed opposite his had been empty for so long. He remembered the day when Jake announced that Yuy was his 'special friend' and that nobody was allowed to share a room with him. Everybody was so scared of Jake that Allana, the girl who had been sharing his room for a couple of weeks had immediately moved out and gone into a four-bed room with Relena and two of her friends. Allana was the closest thing that Heero had ever had to a friend and Jake had taken that away from him on a whim.

From then on Allana stoically refused to acknowledge Heero's existence, like all the others, and that had cut straight to the nine-year-olds heart.

As Duo inspected the paltry covers on his bed, Heero wondered what would happen to him now that Jake knew that Duo had stuck up for him. After a couple of minutes, Duo hopped into bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Heero envied him. He had never been able to sleep easily, mostly due to fear of Jake and of Ms Une.

Footsteps clacked up the hallway. Right on time. Heero buried himself under the thin covers, taking care to hide his bruised wrist from immediate view. He had learned the hard way that Ms Une cared no more about children's health than Mr Kushrenada did about bullying in his establishment.

The door opened, at the same time as every night, and the dark-haired Ms Une came in. Through half opened eyes, Heero saw her eyes flicker towards the now occupied bed opposite his before doing the perfunctory check of the windows and radiator. A formality, and nothing more.

A minute later the door was locked, and Heero was carefully letting himself out of bed, taking care not to damage his wrist any further. He used his good arm to reach under the bed for his book and pencil, now almost a nub barely longer than his smallest finger. Heero climbed back onto the bed, checked that Duo was sleeping, wrapped himself back in his covers; another formality and nothing more. The covers did nothing to keep out the creeping winter temperatures, and the dirty radiator was no better; it gave off a thin heat that escaped every time the door was opened.

He checked once more on the occupant of the second bed, and began to write again by the light of the waning moon.

__

8th December, AC 193

There's somebody sleeping in the same room as me. I've been sleeping in fear and loneliness for four years, and now that there is somebody in the bed opposite, I feel even lonelier.

I'm scared more than anything.

I'm scared that Duo will get hurt. He doesn't deserve Jake's wrath upon him. Maybe I don't, but that's the way it is. I'm scared that Jake will hurt me more than ever because of the braided baka. That word popped into my head when I was thinking about Duo, trying to see whether he was sleeping or not. I've never heard of it before. I've never read it in any book before, it's not even in any language that I've heard either.

But I KNOW the word. I KNEW what I was saying; 'fool'. He's a fool for wanting to befriend me, even if he didn't know about Jake. He's a fool for even trying. And maybe I'm a fool for wanting to believe that maybe, just maybe

"Whatcha doing?"

Heero started, and the pencil fell out of his hand and onto the wooden floor.

"You're awake." Heero made it a statement rather than a question. Duo had been watching him. Why? And for how long.

"It's kinda hard to sleep when your roommate suddenly decides to make a heck of a racket for no other reason than to write in some book."

Heero's brow creased in worry. He had been so quiet, though.

"Plus, I'm an incredibly light sleeper." Duo added as an afterthought.

That made sense, Heero thought. "How long were you awake?" he asked.

"Few minutes. You looked so deep in thought I didn't want to disturb you. Then your eyes started watering, so I asked you what you were doing."

Watering? Involuntarily, Heero raised his uninjured arm to his face. His eyes were warm and moist. He had been... crying? But... that was impossible. He never cried. It was the ultimate form of weakness, something that Jake would pounce upon immediately.

Heero looked down at his book. Duo had interrupted him... when he had been about to write that maybe he himself was a fool... for wanting to have a friend.

He pushed that thought away. He pushed all the thoughts he had about Duo to the very back of his mind. He had other things to worry about. Like Jake.

And Duo.

Jake.

Duo.


	4. Hidden

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Heero had a bad night sleeping. Every few hours he woke up and couldn't get back to sleep for another hour. Mostly he lay at the other end of the bed, looking at the stars dancing in an out of the dark clouds. Then he'd fall asleep and wake up again, and look at the stars some more.

By the third awakening and mindless staring at the stars, Heero had had enough. He looked over at the second bed, and sure enough, Duo was sleeping. Heero listened intently. After a few seconds he began to hear the slow, rhythmic pattern of Duo's breathing. This time, he was asleep

Heero slipped out of bed with practised ease, taking care not to use his bad wrist for support. He quietly walked over to the door and opened it with minimal noise. It was easy when you know how.

Heero padded barefoot along the pitch-black corridor, wondering what time it was and why he was out of bed at night. Usually, he stayed wrapped up in his bed until morning. It was one of the few safe places for him, except for Jake first-thing in the morning.

One of the other safe places was right in front of him. Heero had reached his destination.

He reopened the door with practised ease, went inside and shut the door behind him. And got to work.

***

Duo Maxwell woke up to a loud yell.

"Yuy!"

Duo sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. And found himself staring into the face of a very angry fifteen-year-old.

"Uh-oh... "

"Uh-oh is right, new kid. You seen Yuy lately?"

"Not since last night," Duo answered, wondering what was going on.

Jake grunted and started pacing up and down the small gap between the ends of the two beds. Duo followed his progress with his eyes, settling with propping himself up on his elbows, not really wanting to say or even do anything else right at that moment.

Jake stopped pacing up and down and faced Duo. There was somewhat of a mad glint in his eyes as he approached the bed. Duo gulped, and blinked.

"If you see Yuy," Jake hissed in Duo's right ear, "tell him from me that he and I need to have a wee chat."

Duo nodded mutely.

Jake looked satisfied with that and stepped back from the bed. He pondered for a moment. "Now, new kid, I said yesterday that I would get you, didn't I, new kid?"

Again, Duo nodded, now mystified.

"Well," Jake said in a low monotone. "I never renege upon my promises."

An hour later, Duo arrived at his algebra class sporting a purple-yellow eye that was puffed out so much he couldn't see from it. He mumbled an apology to the teacher, Ms Carmanderson, for being so late (he had gone to beg futile mercy form Ms Une at the infirmary) and sat down at Heero's usual desk in the far corner. No Heero.

Heero wasn't at lunch, nor was he in the science lesson afterwards. Throughout the whole day, Duo methodically avoided Jake, Relena and their hangers-on. He was getting very worried about his small friend by now, if he even had the right to call Heero his friend. He certainly looked like he could use a friend, though.

During the second break of the day, Duo avoided Kenny, one of Jake's bigger hangers-on, and raced up to the small room he shared with Heero. Once inside, he shut the door and looked around the room. Where to look?

His eyes fell on the pathetically covered bed. Heero's bed. Of course. Hadn't he seen Heero rummage under there the night before? Duo dropped down on all fours and stuck his head underneath the bed. The large amount of dust made him cough and recoil.

Time to try a different approach.

Duo dropped down onto his stomach and reached tentatively underneath the bed with one arm. His fingers brushed something. After a couple of minutes he pulled out... a shoe. And it smelled bad.

Duo groaned, pinched his nose, and threw the shoe out of the window. He looked out of the window and watched the shoe sail down through the air and heard the THUD and the scream that accompanied it.

"Ja-a-a-ake! Something hit me! Jake! Something fell out of the air and hit me!"

Duo leaned out of the window slightly and grinned. Relena was rubbing her head and complaining to a person who could only be Jake.

Duo chuckled and ducked back inside before anyone spotted him. After he had calmed himself down, his arm was once again roving underneath the bed. After a couple of minutes, Duo was really worried. What if it wasn't here? What if Heero had it with him?

"Yes!" Duo retracted his arm, and brought out a very tattered brown book.

He bounced back onto the bed and started to flip through it, looking for clues. The first dozen pages seemed almost to be a diary. Duo wanted to skip them, for the sake of Heero's privacy, but he knew that if anything was wrong with Heero then he would find it in these pages.

The first date in the book was marked August 24th, nearly four months ago. Duo shook his head and skipped through the pages, through September, October and November. Then he reached the first entry for December. It was marked as the seventh, the day before he himself had arrived. Duo settled down and started reading, keeping an ear open for Jake or anybody else coming up.

__

It always comes down to Jake's word against my own in the end, because none of the other kids will stand up to him. I tried to today, but he'll always come looking for me. And he'll always find me. There are only so many hiding-places in this dump, and Jake knows them all.

All of them except one. Yesterday I found an empty classroom on the top floor. The door was locked, but that's easy to deal with when you know how. Inside it's all dusty and dirty. I don't think that anybody's been inside there in years. Least of all Jake, which is why I think I like it.

Duo stopped reading. This was it!

Ten minutes later, Duo was on the top floor of the building, Heero's book safely in one hand. Each of the doors lining the corridor had little windows above the handle. Duo looked through each one. Classroom, classroom, office, classroom, supplies, covered, classroom, office.

Duo stopped. Went back to the door with the covered window. Maybe the room was unusable. Maybe...

Duo knocked on the door with his free hand. "Heero?" he called softly. "Heero, it's me, Duo. I'm alone. Can I come in?"

Silence.

Duo started sweating on the back of his neck, wondering if maybe he had done something wrong. Then without any warning, the door opened, and Heero stood in front of him.

"How did you know I was here?"

Duo held up the brown book as an answer.

Heero paled and snatched the book from Duo's hand faster than he could blink.

"Can I at least come in?"

Heero's brow creased. "How did that happen?" he asked, pointing at Duo's eye.

Duo shrugged. "It's no big deal. Jake came looking for you, but found little old me instead."

"I'm sorry. That shouldn't be happening to you, just to -"

"You?" Duo interjected. "Sorry buddy, but nobody deserves to get bullied. Not even you. Not even Jake or Relena. Although I got her pretty good just now."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and Duo quickly explained about finding some shoe, throwing it out of the window because it really smelt and the freak chance that it got Relena right on the head.

Heero smiled a bit, which cheered Duo up. _He looks so nice when he smiles..._

"Um... do you want to come in?" Heero opened the door a bit wider and waved his arm around.

Duo stepped inside, and watched bemusedly as Heero locked the door behind them. "You can never be too careful in this place," was the explanation.

Heero disappeared, and Duo turned around. The room was smallish, as all the other rooms on the floor were. But this room was devoid of desks and chairs.

Instead one corner was blocked off with a large curtain, one looked strangely similar to the single one hanging at the large window. Duo ducked underneath the curtain and let out a cry of surprise. There was a building underneath the covering!

Heero was crouched underneath a partition at the far end of the structure. Duo got down on hands and knees, and slowly made his way over to where the boy was sitting with some metal poles.

"You - you built this?" Duo asked, amazement in his voice.

Heero nodded, and looked straight into Duo's good eye. "I found this room a couple of days ago, as you probably know. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I came here and got to work on this. The poles were propped up in a corner and ripping down the curtain was easy enough. There aren't that many safe places here, as you may have guessed."

Duo nodded, remembering how hard it had been to avoid Kenny, Jake and Relena all day.

"What is it?"

Heero's unwavering look flickered. "I called it the Hive this morning. Hives are where there is safety in numbers. I... I have these dreams where I have these four good friends, and Jake isn't there. In here I can make those people real."

Pause.

"It may sound crazy, but the morning you arrived, I got this strange feeling that you were one of those people. Sounds mad, I know."

Duo smiled. "Not mad at all. The Hive, huh? Doesn't that make you a bumblebee?"

Heero looked up at his face, scepticism in his eyes.

Duo laughed. "Come on, Heero Bumblebee. Let's get to work."

Heero passed him a pipe. _Looks like I can call Heero Bumblebee a friend after all..._


	5. Stranger

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The next night, Heero slept soundly for the first time in four years. And he dreamed.

He was flying through the air again, the same as before. He left Jake far behind and flew up into the infinite blackness of space, leaving his fears behind as well.

Up here he was different. Up here he was safe.

A noise behind him made the sleeping Heero jerk, then settle back down again. The four fliers were behind him, the same as they always were, except that this time the four faces were distinct, clearly visible.

Heero went up close and looked at their faces. One was Chinese, one was blonde-haired and pale skinned, one had brown hair swept forward into a protruding bang, and the other...

It was Duo.

In a flash of light, Heero was standing in a field, the four people standing there in a group, separate to him.

They looked like they knew each other, and that they knew Heero as well. The blonde boy stepped forwards, and Heero involuntarily stepped backwards. He didn't know what was happening, he had never managed to get this far before.

The blonde boy cleared his throat, a sound which echoed everywhere at once. "My name is Quatre. Hello, Heero."

"How - how did you know my name?" Heero asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Quatre sighed. "We've always known your name, Heero Yuy."

Duo spoke up for the first time. "We're your friends, Heero."

"I don't have any friends." Heero stated. "I've never had any friends."

Duo looked hurt, and Heero felt a pang of something inside him.

__

Have I hurt him?

The boy with the bang of hair put his arm comfortingly around Duo's shoulder and led him to a fence at the edge of the field. Quatre and the Chinese boy followed them, not once looking at Heero.

He put his hand to his mouth, and felt something wet. He pulled his hand away, and saw blood.

"No!"

Heero began to run. He ran to the fence at the other end of the field, until he was out of breath and began to pant. Finally he collapsed against the fence's post.

"You can't deny your fate, 01."

Heero spun around on his bottom, looking for the speaker. "Who - who is that?"

The voice sighed, perfectly mimicking Quatre's. "You were meant to fight back, 01, not to hide away in a small room at the edge of nowhere, not to wait pitifully for the end to come for you. You were meant to be a brave person, 01. You were meant to be a hero for the people. Instead you hide away from other people, from yourself. You were offered the chance to step up to the plate, but you didn't, 01. You ran away."

"I'm not 01!" Heero screamed. He got up and began to run again. The ground started shaking again, and Heero collapsed on the grass, shaking himself and crying.

"Heero! Hey, Heero!"

Heero woke up to find Duo standing over him. He backed away from him until he felt the wall behind him. Wall?

He was still in the hidden room. He had fallen asleep, that was all.

Half-formed images danced through Heero's mind, strangely vivid yet hazy at the same time.

Quatre, the blonde boy. His face never left the forefront of Heero's mind.

The voice by the fence. 01. Who was 01?

Duo knelt down in front of Heero. "I think you had a nightmare, buddy. Can't really blame you, not in a place like this. But it's okay now. You're awake. Nightmares aren't real."

__

Except when the people you know are in them, Heero thought. "What time is it?"

"Time for breakfast. Come on, or else we'll be late."

Heero nodded and followed Duo out of the room, after first making sure that the Hive was completely covered with the curtain. He locked the door and the two of them headed down to the hall for breakfast.

The smell of slightly rotten milk assaulted their noses, and the two of them reeled slightly. Then they joined the queue, which was moving slowly around the edge of the hall to the hatch where the cook and his assistant were doling out bowls of cornflakes and glasses of milk.

Heero looked to see who else was in the queue. Three places ahead of them, he could see Relena sporting a bandaged head, through which a large bump was plainly visible. Next to her, gossiping away, were two girls Heero didn't know, and Allana. Jake and Kenny were standing together a few places ahead of the girls, deep in conversation. Without warning, Kenny caught Heero's eye and smiled dangerously. Then he was talking with Jake again as if nothing had just happened.

Ahead of them, a glint of yellow-white. Heero strained his neck, holding onto Duo for support. Was - how - it was Quatre! The boy from his dream!

The person turned around to speak to somebody, and Heero sagged. It was a girl, turning around to talk to somebody standing behind her.

Someone prodded Heero in the back, and Heero jerked. It was Duo. He pointed behind Heero, who realised that they were almost at the hatch.

"Thank you."

"No prob," replied Duo.

They both moved forwards and were greeted by the sight of the cook, Milliardo.

"Good morning, boys," the cook said conversationally. He scooped a ladle of cornflakes out of a large black vat and poured them into a bowl. This was handed to Heero, and the process was repeated for Duo. Both moved forwards again to the milk jugs wielded by Miss Noin, an incongruous peg clipped over her nose.

Neither of the boys could really blame her. Up here the stench of rotten milk was almost overwhelming. Judging by the reek the milk couldn't have been more than two or three days off, but it was enough. Both boys had cereal poured in their bowls and were given a glass of milk, before being shooed off to find seats.

Heero's usual table was by the window overlooking a field, and as usual, nobody was sitting there. Even the seats directly surrounding it were empty [a/n: more of Jake's handiwork].

Heero took his normal spot in the seat nearest the window, and Duo joined him, taking the seat opposite him on the narrow table, which earned another small smile from Heero. The tables normally sat six, which was obvious as all the other tables were full up, some seating seven or eight, because everybody was scared of Jake.

Speak of the devil...

Jake marched over from his table. Watching him was Relena, Kenny, Allana and about two thirds of the rest of the population of the hall.

He reached the table where Heero and Duo sat.

"Yuy! Good morning! How are you today?"

"Fine," Heero grunted, swirling his spoon around his bowl.

"And Yuy, where were you and your friend this morning?" Heero managed to detect the sinister undertone on the word 'friend' without too much difficulty.

"Busy," Heero grunted again.

"Shame, Yuy. I was really looking forward to personally escorting you to classes this morning."

Heero shuddered, a movement only the boy opposite him registered. He knew only too well what being 'escorted' by Jake meant. It had only happened once before, about two months previous, when the larger boy had decided that Heero needed a 'friend', and Heero had gone to bed with a shoulder one tendon away from being snapped in two. Ms Une had pushed him off, assuring him it was only a couple of bruises. By morning the shoulder was completely unusable, and the visiting medic had taken one horrified look at the shoulder before carting Heero off to the local hospital for bandages and a cast and an overnight stay.

"Never mind, Yuy, we can always do it tomorrow."

Jake moved in close to Heero's left ear. "I'll get both of you, Yuy. You and your friend."

And with that he was gone, off back to his table for breakfast.

"Well," Duo commented from his bowl of cereal, "that sent shivers up my spine."

"He was being serious."

"Oh. What do you mean by serious?"

"He means it literally, Duo. The last time he did it to me I very nearly had a broken shoulder."

Duo said nothing more, just spooned some more cereal into his mouth, accompanied by a theatrical gagging motion.

Heero didn't smile. "I don't think that it's a very good idea for you to be sitting here any more. It'll only attract trouble, and besides, you don't deserve this."

"Oh, and you do? Sorry, buddy, but I've already said it - nobody - _nobody_ - deserves to go through the amount of shit Jake has put you through, and I don't care what you say, Heero. I didn't just read that portion of the diary, or whatever it is you hide under your bed. I read up to the end on the way up to your other room, and I saw the unfinished sentence. I even managed to guess what the end of it was."

Heero froze, and Duo continued, noting the reaction from the smaller boy.

"You said I was a fool for wanting to be your friend. Hell, maybe I am. But that's the story of my life. I follow my heart. You on the other hand, freeze up at the mere mention of the word 'friend'. I know that's partly because of Allana over there and also because of our mutual buddy Jake. But two bad experiences do not mean that you completely shut yourself off to the outside world. See?"

Heero made no response.

"Heero! I care about you! Maybe I'm being stupid but you shouldn't be doing that to yourself. You shouldn't let Jake win like this!"

"I'm finished."

Heero deposited his empty bowl and glass in the hatch and went upstairs.

He didn't have any friends.

He didn't!


	6. Change

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU

****

A note to readers:_  
The orphanage / school that Heero and Duo are in is based upon the concept of a Victorian (nineteenth century England) workhouse, as are some of the less focal characters (Une and Treize), being strange and not necessarily accurate parodies of the people who would have held the role as Master and Matron of the workhouse (they would have been married). I do _not_ want to torture Heero, I am just remaining true to the attributes that a typical Victorian workhouse would have had  
_I hope this helps  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

After a couple of minutes, during which he finished his cereal in record time, Duo Maxwell followed Heero Yuy upstairs. On the way he fumed over what he had said. All he had meant to say was that Heero shouldn't have to go through all that alone. And somehow he got the wrong impression.

But where was he?

Duo went up to the small bedroom that the two of them shared. Nobody in there.

The Hive. Of course.

He left the bedroom and ran full-pelt up to the top floor, panting all the way.

Sure enough, the door leading to the Hive was locked with the covering over the window. Not that that really meant anything, Duo mused. He knocked on the door.

No response.

He had expected this.

"Fine, Heero. You don't want to let me in. But I'm not going anywhere." And with that, he sat against the door and started humming, just loud enough to be heard inside.

After about ten minutes, Duo heard the catch on the inside of the door click slightly. He leaned backwards a bit harder and promptly fell onto his back as the door opened behind him.

"You should really try doing that standing up," Heero commented

"Oh, ha-ha," Duo commented sarcastically. He got up. "Very funny."

"It wasn't meant to be funny." Heero walked behind Duo and closed and locked the door securely.

"I know. And hey, I'm not sorry for what I said downstairs. I meant every word."

Heero turned away, and for a moment Duo wondered whether he had done something wrong. Heero walked over to the base of the Hive and sat down, leaning against one of the pieces of piping. Duo joined him uncertainly.

Heero closed his eyes and began to speak so quietly that Duo had to lean closer to listen. "I said already that I've been here for five years, nearly six. Jake, on the other hand, has only been here for four. Up until then I had a friend, Allana. We shared a room. We sat together a lot of the time. We... we were good friends. Then Jake came. Within his first week here, he decided that I was his 'special' friend. That meant that nobody else was allowed to talk to me, or even to look at me some of the time. Allana... Allana persisted for two weeks, then she gave up trying. Since then I've been alone, except for Jake's early morning wake up calls."

He paused for breath, and looked at the boy sitting next to him. Duo looked pale, like he might throw up at any minute.

"I know this is going to sound foolish, but I... told Allana to leave me alone. That way she wouldn't get hurt. That's why I tried telling you to leave me alone. That black eye is evidence enough that we shouldn't be friends. But still..."

Heero broke off the monologue.

"What?" Duo prompted. "What is it?"

"... still... I want to be friends with you. It sounds strange, but on your first day, I felt like I knew you. You were a stranger, but you were a friend. In my mind I started calling you a baka, even though I have no idea what it means..."

"Me neither," the other boy smiled. He held out his hand. "Friends?"

Heero smiled, and held out his hand. "Friends."

For a while they simply shook hands, at a loss for anything else to do. They just sat in their safe haven, safe in the knowledge that they had each other. But not for long...

"Nuts!" Duo looked at his watch. "We'll be late for lessons! Come on!"

The two boys ran downstairs (Heero having locked the door, of course) and only just made it into the classroom when the teacher arrived. Mr Greenaway shuffled into the room and sat down at the desk, legs splayed either side of the chair.

"In today's lesson," he droned, "we will be looking at the mating process of _Homo sapiens_."

Joey, one of the class jokers, put his hand up. "So, what are we doing today sir?"

"Looking at the human methods of reproduction."

Joey couldn't resist it. "Sex?"

"That is what I said, Joseph."

And so the lesson continued. Heero and Duo gradually got more bored by the second, and didn't even react when Mr Greenaway used Relena and Jake to demonstrate pregnancy and giving birth.

One of the kids behind Duo poked him in the back. "Hey, Maxwell!"

Duo turned around. It was Robert. "What?" he asked.

"Message from Jake. Watch your back," recited Robert, who then fell silent. The other boy scratched his head for a moment before realising something. He started to reach around onto his back, which ended up contorting him like a clown. Heero calmly reached over and pulled a small piece of paper off the centre of his companion's back and handed it to him.

It read, quite simply: _Homo_


	7. Predator

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Duo turned the note over in his hand, as if trying to find some other clue. There was none. Just the single word.

__

Homo

He blinked a couple of times before turning around. Jake was back at the other side of the classroom, looking like he wanted to go to sleep. Then, only for an instant, his bleary eyes focused sharply onto Duo's, hatred blazing in them. Then Jake was staring blankly at the blackboard again, and Duo wondered if he had imagined it.

He shot a sideways look at Heero, and smiled slightly. His friend was staring at the board blankly, just like Jake, but unlike Jake, Heero had the faintest tuggings of a smile, barely visible.

Duo stuffed the crumpled note into his back pocket and relaxed slightly. If he focused enough on the blackboard, he might just get to...

"Class," the teacher droned, "that is all for this lesson. You may leave."

Relieved, Duo stood up and waited for Heero. The two of them left the classroom in a tense silence, neither of them really wanting to think about the note.

It was just a couple of jerks...

Duo jerked involuntarily. One of those two jerks was waiting outside the opposite classroom. And come to think of it, he wasn't looking too happy...

He strode over form the doorway to the next classroom and eyed Duo up and down. At three inches taller than the braided boy, he looked quite sinister and the younger child had to look up to maintain eye contact, which he never broke once.

"New kid," Jake hissed so quietly Duo had to strain to hear. "I hear that you've got a friend."

Duo nodded mutely, still keeping eye contact with Jake, who leaned in closer still.

"Word of advice, new kid," the voice murmured next to his ear. "Watch your back."

And with that, he was gone.

The next lesson was, inevitably, sport. The teacher, Mr Alysso, divided the group into two teams of ten of equal boy and girl capacity for a game of football. Heero and Duo ended up on the same team, along with a gaggle of chattering girls named Lisa, Hannah, Karen, Millie and Katie and some boys that Duo knew, David, Evan and William. Jake, Relena, Allana, Kenny and Robert were on the opposing team, along with some kids that Duo didn't know. Duo and Jake were in goal respectively.

The game started amicably enough, despite the fact that if Duo stood still too long his legs started to go numb. Most of the girls staunchly refused to play, even when egged on by the teacher and some of the boys as well. All except one. Millie was all over the place with the ball, and as Duo watched, she managed to successfully tackle Kenny twice and thrice got the ball past Jake and into the net. A scrawny stick-thin David proved an unexpected asset when he scored two goals as well.

Needless to say, Duo was very proud to say that he didn't concede a single goal, even if his stomach was still sore from all the dodgy dives he made as a result of direct onslaughts from Jake. Whenever Millie and David had the ball, he had nothing to worry about, so he bounced around the edge of the net and talked to Heero, who was shivering slightly from the cold.

Then the teacher called a time-out of five minutes. Duo, Heero, the other boys and Millie gathered in their goal net, huddled together to try and stay warm. Karen, Lisa, Hannah and Katie gathered in their own little huddle at the edge of the pitch, no doubt gossiping about this, that and the other.

"Mill, you were fantastic!" Duo looked over at her and found the small girl grinning widely, both cheeks tinged pink from the wind. Her plaited red hair streamed behind her and whipped around with the wind.

"So was David," she replied modestly.

"We need to work out how we're going to keep the lead," Heero spoke up, unusual for him. Without Jake breathing down their necks, the others turned to him.

"We're five-nil up," commented William. "I don't think we're going to have many problems winning with that."

"He has a point though," Evan said. "If we get too complacent, especially Duo, Heero and you, Will, then they'll be walking all over us."

"Literally," David muttered.

Millie dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Look. With the other girls not playing, we have an immediate advantage."

"We do?" Evan asked.

"Six against five, dummy."

"Oh."

"I see," William remarked. "All we have to do is keep playing as we have been and we shouldn't have any problems."

Heero nodded. "Exactly. Millie and David are doing a great job up front. The four of us just need to sharpen up the defence a little. Some of Duo's saves were pretty close."

"Yep," Duo stated, massaging his stomach for effect, although it didn't hurt all that much.

Heero smiled wryly his friend. "All we need to do is give them a real run for their money. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" came back five voices.

"So here's what we do..."

Thirty seconds later the teacher's whistle blasted out, signalling a return to play. Duo's team took up their new positions. David and Millie stayed up front, but William was now in goal and Evan and Heero remained in defence. Duo entered the centre circle for kick-off. Ten feet away, Jake stood watching him like a hawk (Robert was in goal) .

"New kid!" Jake's voice was barely audible. "Remember what I said."

Duo ignored him and waited for the whistle blast before kicking the ball to Millie.

And they were off. David and Duo passed the ball to each other and then to Millie, the ball going cleanly through Kenny's lumbering legs, much to Duo's amusement. After a few seconds, the ball came back to David. He dribbled for a while then returned it to Duo seconds before Kenny would have reached him. Duo now had a clear shot at goal. He pulled his foot back, ready to give the kick of his life (or at least the game) when something rammed hard into his back. He fell forwards onto his stomach and the ball, before everything went black.

He lay there for a few seconds until somebody hoisted him up and turned him onto his back so that he was facing upwards. All he could see was black, and all he could hear were jumbled-up voices.

"... wasn't my fault sir, just trying to get the ball... Duo, Duo, you okay?... C'mon Duo, wake up... Jake, get off this pitch... Sir, it was his fault, he was in the way..."

Eventually the shadows in front of him lifted and everything slowly but surely swam into focus.

Heero and Millie were bent over him, both looking extremely worried. Evan, William and David were standing behind them, watching from a distance. The teacher was bending over to have a look. He lifted Duo's neck up and felt his pulse and forehead.

"You seem okay, Maxwell, just a bit winded. Can you get up?"

Slowly, Duo propped himself up onto his elbows. He eventually managed to get onto his feet, with some support form Millie and Heero. With one arm draped around each of them, he left the field and went back into the school building.

They stopped at the top of the stairs. Millie slowly unravelled herself from Duo's grip. "Sorry boys. My dorm's along there," she said, pointing in the opposite direction. "You going to be okay?" she asked, looking at Duo.

"Fine," he managed. "And thank you."

"No problem," she answered, smiling at both of them before disappearing along the corridor.

Five minutes later, Duo and Heero reached their room, Duo ready to collapse from exhaustion more than anything else. He climbed onto his bed and was asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.

Heero watched him for a moment, before slipping to the bathroom at the very end of the corridor to wet a cloth for his friend. He hadn't been gone for more than a couple of minutes, and when he returned, another note was stuck to Duo's rising and falling back. Gently, Heero prised it off the shirt and read the crude rhyme scrawled onto one side of it;

__

Duo and Heero sitting in a tree  
K-I-S-S-I-N-G  
First comes pain, then comes carnage  
Then comes Jakey with the shotgun carriage


	8. Resistance

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU

****

Another (more cryptic) note to my readers:  
_Check the chapter title one more time before continuing...  
__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ten minutes later the pair were seated in Maths, the second note stuffed into a bin halfway down the corridor from the classroom and well and truly dismissed from the minds of both boys. Somehow, Duo managed to stay awake during long and complicated explanations of simultaneous quadratic equations, even if he didn't hear a word of it. Every few minutes he massaged his stomach, still aching slightly from where he had fallen onto the football.

The lesson ended and he and Heero headed for the door to make their way to the hall for lunch.

On the way, Duo felt a steel-tight grip on his left shoulder.

"New kid," a voice hissed, "we don't appreciate homos here."

"Don't you?" Duo replied uncertainly.

"Why are you hanging around with Yuy?"

"I'm his friend."

A shocked silence rang through the corridor. Someone laughed and Duo looked around, anger imprinting on his face. Relena shut up quickly, turning the laugh into a not-very-convincing cough. Duo narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yuy doesn't have any friends."

"He does!"

Duo stiffened. He hadn't said that. It had come from someone else. Turning around as far as his trapped shoulder would allow, Duo saw a short redhead storm in his direction from a gaggle of blonde and brunette heads. A redhead with two long plaits and ferocious green eyes, heading their way.

__

Millie...

"What did you say?" Jake asked incredulously, tightening his grip on the shoulder, causing its owner to wince from the pain.

"I said, dumb-ass, Heero Yuy has got friends. You mess with him again, and we'll get you."

To Duo's immense surprise, Jake actually laughed out loud. "Oh yeah? You and what army, short-stuff?"

"This army," Heero said unexpectedly. Behind him, backing him up, seemingly from out of nowhere, stood a group of kids. William, David and Evan from the football match, and Robert as well. As if to emphasise the point, tall Evan began rubbing his hands together, a menacing glint flashing in his icy-blue eyes.

Millie got up to Jake. Standing next to him, she didn't even reach his shoulder, but she refused to be intimidated. She looked up and caught Jake's eyes, harsh green facing dead grey. Duo tried to squirm free, and found to his consternation that the grip was loosening. He broke free, unnoticed by Jake, and went to stand next to Heero. His friend looked worried, as if he didn't know what was going to happen next. Neither did he, Duo admitted to himself, and he was as equally nervous as Heero, although he didn't show it.

"You're out of your league, Armstrong," Jake practically spat, using Millie's last name. "There's nothing you can do. I'm big and you're little. I'm strong, and you... you're weak."

"Weak, this!" Millie lifted her leg up and as Duo and Heero watched, she brought it round and kicked Jake squarely in his groin. He fell down onto his knees and moaned in pain, clutching the kicked area with both hands. Millie flicked her hair out of her eyes and went over to stand next to William.

Silently, the whole class watched as Jake contorted and writhed from the pain. After hesitating, Relena rushed to his side, knelt down and looked at him (pathetically, in Duo's private opinion), and tried to offer him some support. After a few moments, he slowly got to his feet and surveyed the scene in front of him.

A total ensemble of thirteen was behind Duo and Heero, including Millie. Heero looked at them and turned back to look at Jake as he hesitated for the first time in four years. Duo, getting the feeling that it was going to be one of _those_ moments, stepped forward. He met Jake's grey eyes and clearly and loudly cleared his throat. He wanted everybody to hear this. Even those who didn't want to hear.

"We are as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided," Duo stated calmly and concisely. Behind him he could hear murmurs off assent and vigorous assertions from Millie and the other boys.

Jake stood silently, watching.

Even he knew that at last, he was beaten.


	9. Decision

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Lunch was a rather 'refined' affair, although to Heero, it was one of the less colourless lunches in his time at the orphanage-cum-cheap boarding school. For the first time since Jake had arrived, he was sitting in the midst of a complete jumble of people, all chattering insanely; to him, around him and over him. Tables which normally sat six, were seating nine or ten as usual, but not for the usual reason.

This time, Jake was sitting alone, with only Relena for company.

Heero, on the other hand, was sitting at his usual table in the corner by the window. This time, the table also boasted Millie opposite Heero (next to Duo), Robert the other side of Heero (he had already apologised to him for the note) and Evan and William either side of Millie. Skinny David and a quiet girl named Elle [a/n: my little joke, no offence meant] were squeezed in at the end of the table between Evan and Duo, and (to Heero's immense happiness) Allana sat at Robert and William's end of the table, looking flushed, and was smiling for the first time since Jake arrived.

Theirs was the only table buzzing.

The rest of the hall was a low, consistent hum, almost inaudible compared to some of the shrieks emitting from Heero's table; confessions and apologies were sprouting up everywhere.

Outside the hall, Allana had apologised to Heero for acting the way she had for four years. Robert had apologised umpteen times for passing Jake's note. Everyone had apologised for watching every time Jake laid into Heero in public.

The said boy merely blushed and said that he didn't mind, and that he hoped that any animosities harboured were and remained fully in the past.

Duo had then shocked him by announcing that they would each confess a deep, dark and true secret. Everyone had agreed enthusiastically, from Elle to William.

Millie opted to go first. She stood up, cleared her throat and with a smirk, confessed that she had a huge crush on Evan. Evan then stood up and declared his tentative feelings for the redhead. The two then announced that they had been going out for three weeks. Everyone oohed and aahed appreciatively.

Elle then expressed her addiction to caffeine, even though she had a slight allergy to it. She then sat down and began drinking a caffeine-full cup of juice and started twitching absent-mindedly.

David, apparently, couldn't live without his lucky Homer Simpson boxers, which elicited several laughs from the girls. He blushed and quickly sat down.

William had been beaten by his stepfather for two years as a child. He then showed everyone a small pink scar in the small of his back where he had been whipped with a belt.

Robert watched his dad commit suicide.

Allana slowly stood up, as if she were having trouble making her legs work properly. She coughed and said hurriedly that she once raised a tarantula in her dorm without Ms Une or any of the other girls finding out. The spider was called 'Ramsey' and now lived in some bushes at the very end of the playing field.

Duo's turn. Heero watched him stand up and blink vacantly a couple of times. Duo then proceeded to say that he had just realised that he was beginning to fall in love with someone sitting at the table. Millie asked him who she was; Duo refused to say.

Heero slowly stood up. He had no idea what to say. His deepest darkest secret? The dreams of having friends... no. The Hive... no! Make something up... no. That wouldn't be right. But what to say?

He looked at the people sitting around him.his friends. Millie and Evan, William, Robert, Elle, David, Allana, Duo... all waiting for him. He bit his lip before continuing.

"... I don't really have any secrets, because I couldn't... be bothered. There is something, though. Something secret that can only be shown to you."

__

What am I thinking? A small voice in his head argued.

__

That it's okay to have friends. To be a hero for the people, another little voice argued back. _But maybe there's something else... something else involved in this as well..._

Heero merely smiled to himself as he led the group upstairs to a book-filled room on the fourth floor.


	10. Revelation

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I did own a DIY Relena-Voodoo Kit once, but the people at Customs confiscated it  
I have been advised to finally admit that Heero Bumblebee is completely and utterly AU  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

"... Behold!"

Heero cast a darkly amused look at Duo, who quickly shut up, with a huge grin on his face. He then resumed pulling the huge curtain across the window. The rails clanked noisily against the hooks holding the curtain up, and Millie stepped in and helped Heero pull.

A couple of sweat-filled minutes later, sun filled the previously dark and musty room. Everyone trooped to the window and stopped, speechless, at the vista that lay before them.

From their vantage point on the fourth floor, the assembled could see for _miles_, much further than the stone walls at the edge of the area surrounding the bleak masonry of the orphanage-cum-school. Duo even fancied that he could see the ocean twinkling and sparkling blue in the distance. Unconsciously, everyone crowded up close to the window in order to get a better look, each person greedily taking in the sights that lay before them.

Millie and Evan, holding hands, looked up into the cloudless sky, where two kestrels flew free under the sun.

Elle smiled wistfully at the vast and richly green fields that lay just the other side of the drab grey stone walls.

David and Allana both took in the sheer breathtaking tranquillity of the scene, watching some of the other kids running on the playground and playing field, bare in comparison to the sun-soaked fields beyond.

William and Robert stared silently at the animals grazing contentedly in one of the more further off fields.

Duo was simply staring in open-mouthed surprise at what he could see out of the window. Heero smiled as he watched him. He had come to appreciate having Duo as a friend more and more lately, although he couldn't quite place the reason why.

Millie was the first to speak. "This is your secret?" she asked Heero, eventually tearing her eyes away from the deep-blue sky.

Heero nodded in response.

"What is it?" David asked, eyes riveted on the small strip of twinkling blue in the distance.

Heero smiled to himself before answering. "Hope. Freedom. The knowledge that we aren't alone."

__

"You were meant to fight back, 01, not to hide away in a small room at the edge of nowhere, not to wait pitifully for the end to come for you. You were meant to be a brave person, 01. You were meant to be a hero for the people. Instead you hide away from other people, from yourself. You were offered the chance to step up to the plate, but you didn't, 01. You ran away."

The voice from the dream echoed back at him, cutting into Heero's mind like a knife. Just as quickly he responded to the already retreating voice.

__

I have fought back. I am fighting back. I may not be the 01 you described, but I can be this 01 now. The first person to bring hope. Hope that we can break the rules and be better off for it. The hope of a silver lining behind the storm clouds. The kind of hope that only friendship can bring.

I've got Duo now. That kind of hope is enough to get me through the day and through the night as well.

He looked again at Duo and smiled slightly.

__

More than enough.

The smile spread. The edges of his mouth creased up and his eyes felt all warm and tingly. It must have been catching, because Duo turned around at that instant, the smile mirrored in his own face. He stepped back from the others, from David, William, Allana, Robert, Elle, Millie and Evan and joined Heero.

"It's amazing."

"I know," replied Heero. The warm feeling returned to his stomach and all the nerves Heero had been bundling up came back.

With a vengeance.

"You know," Duo added conversationally, "I wasn't lying downstairs when I said I was beginning to fall in love with somebody."

Heero stopped. Turned to face his friend, his compatriot, his...

Duo on the other hand, pulled Heero closer to him and delivered him a kiss full on the lips.

The nerves went away almost instantly, and Heero knew that somehow, unbelievably, that this was right. He returned the kiss.

A few moments later, Heero could hear a voice murmuring, "I love you, Heero Bumblebee."

__

Hope...

~The End


End file.
